Until Next Year
by WeAllHaveAnEscape
Summary: No way to summarise this without giving up the whole plot...yeah. Prompted by MariusxEponine3, bits of Marius/Éponine. Also a bit depressing. Enjoy!


**A/N: This was originally gonna be in Imagine but I thought it'd work better by itself :) Thank you to MariusxEponine3 for the prompt! :) I planned to write this for Barricade Day (6th June) but didn't get around to it. Still in honour of the barricade :'(**

**Starts off a bit slow, but hints of fluff, so please persevere. Flashback in italic :)**

* * *

Marius sighed.

In the early morning light he could see Cosette's outline next to him, still dozing peacefully. But he couldn't sleep.

Climbing out of bed, he got dressed, deciding to go for a walk before Cosette awoke. It was fairly sunny, if a bit chilly, and headed out.

He walked through the market, looking at the stalls being set up when he walked straight in to someone. Turning, he apologised, before his eyes widened, taking in the appearance of who it was.

"Éponine..."

"Hello, Monsieur Marius, it's been a while" Éponine replied, seemingly not bothered by the fact it had been roughly five years. She grinned up at him as usual. "Going somewhere?"

"It's been more than a while! I was just on a walk. Care to join?" Marius asked, slightly bemused by the situation, but deciding to keep it casual. She smiled and nodded, linking her arm through his.

They chatted amiably, walking through the increasingly busy streets. Éponine was just as Marius remembered her: spontaneously random, cheeky and altogether upbeat, despite the things she had seen and experienced.

"So, what's new with you?"

"Nothing much. I married Cosette"-at this point, Éponine's face fell and she dropped his arm, trying not to appear too disappointed-"and got a new job, but not a lot else really."

Éponine nodded and bit her lip. They'd been walking for about four hours now, the clock in the square telling them it was almost one. Marius suggested they stop for a bite to eat, which they did, picking a small side restaurant with only a couple of customers.

"Uh, Marius?"

"Yes?"

"I, um, can't really see...the menu, I mean."

"If you can't read it then there's no shame."

Éponine said nothing, staring at the words which were nothing more than decorative scribbles to her. Marius got up from his seat and kneeled next to her, a hand placed gently on her shoulder. They went through the meals one by one, until Éponine selected some chicken and potato, some salad on the side. Marius chose some soup and bread, and they talked away the next two hours happily.

When both of them had finished, Marius paid and they went back to the market, crossing through and walking by the Seine. They found a bench overlooking the river, watching the rushing waters below. Éponine shuddered, remembering how her father had almost pushed her into them once, and Marius' arm instinctively found her waist, his hand clutching one of hers.

Being Éponine, she let no emotion show, but gave him a grateful smile and gripped his hand a bit tighter, leaning into his touch. Just sitting there quietly next to each other passed another hour, Marius wondering where on Earth the time had gone. Cosette probably assumed he was at work - he'd need to think of an excuse for missing a day - so wouldn't worry.

He looked down at Éponine, who's head was leaning against his shoulder as she looked thoughtfully out into the waters. She suddenly looked oddly beautiful. Her hair wasn't as matted as normal, falling gently in front of one eye. The hand that wasn't clasping his was fiddling absent-mindedly with the end of her shawl.

He didn't notice he was still staring at her until she spoke.

"Shouldn't we be getting back? I heard the clock strike five."

Marius nodded, standing up and then helping Éponine to her feet. She squealed as he spun her around, both laughing. He tucked his arm around her waist again and they headed back to the almost empty market.

Whilst Éponine was looking at a stall selling gingerbread, he bought a small bouquet of lilies. She came back over to him, eyes widening as she saw the flowers he was presenting to her. She took them tentatively, before launching into a his welcoming embrace, hugging him tightly. Marius wrapped his arms firmly around her thin shoulder blades.

Hearing the distinct rumbling of her stomach, the pair agreed to stop off for dinner. Marius helped Éponine with her menu once more, before they both decided on salmon, a baked potato each, and a salad bowl to share. Marius also insisted they share a slice of cake (which he made sure went mainly to Éponine), and was surprised to see it was almost eight.

After they paid, he took her hand, and they walked down the now empty streets. Éponine kept looking at him almost wistfully, and each time Marius smiled and squeezed her hand, and they continued on their way.

It was almost nine by this point. Éponine withdrew her hand. "Marius, I have to go."

"What? Why?"

"I-it's hard to explain, but I have to."

"Stay. Please, Éponine, I want you to."

"I can't, no matter how much I may want to."

"But-"

"Monsieur..."

Her voice was quieter, almost as if she were...fading? No, that couldn't be it. He was just tired.

"I have to."

"When will I see you again?"

"Who knows? I could turn up tomorrow or disappear for a year."

"Don't go. Please, 'Ponine, stay."

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"You don't understand! I've missed you so much, I can't let you disappear for another five years!"

"You'll cope. You always do."

"But I won't! Éponine, I love you, I can't lose you again!"

"You have Cosette, you do not need me."

"But I do! I love Cosette but I love you too! I thought you loved me, why can't you just stay?"

"Of course I love you. I always will. But all good things come to an end. This won't be the last time we meet. Goodbye, Monsieur Marius."

"Éponine..."

And with that, he blacked out.

* * *

Cosette, meanwhile, had been busying herself around the house, presuming Marius was out working. She checked the clock, seeing it was around nine in the evening, and frowned. He was usually home by eight.

Shrugging it off, she finished setting out a picture of her mother (her father had found it in his old files, and she assumed it had been drawn when she was working at the factory), whispering something to it before heading over to the calendar.

And then she realised.

June 6th.

_The barricade._

Oh, there was no doubt in her mind where he was after reading that. She threw on a dressing gown over her nightdress, slipping on some shoes and heading straight for the old chapel. More specifically, the small graveyard behind it.

"Marius!"

Marius looked around blindly. What was Cosette doing here? And where was Éponine?

Cosette came running up the path. "Marius, you're here, thank God."

"Where's Éponine?"

Cosette looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"Éponine. Tall, skinny, brown hair, rags, Thénardier girl."

"I know who she is."

"Well, where is she?"

"Marius, Éponine's dead."

Marius stared at her blankly. "What do you mean, dead? I just spoke to her, I spent the day with her, she can't be dead."

"She died five years ago. At the barricade."

"Don't be ridiculous. That's not possible. Stop saying she's dead!" Marius said, starting to get a bit worked up. "I-no, she can't be, I saw her today. She can't be dead."

"She is. I'm sorry, Marius, she's been dead for five years."

"But I saw her today, I told her I loved her...I love her, Cosette, I love you but I love her too, I just-she can't have died."

He'd started to tear up now, eyes brimming with unshed tears, distraught with the information he was being told.

"I know, Marius, I know."

He looked up. The first thing he saw was a gravestone, right in front of him.

_Éponine Thénardier  
31st October 1812 - 6th June 1832  
The summers die, one by one,  
How soon they fly, on and on.  
Forever remembered.  
For she did not die in vain._

Marius stared at the writing, re-reading it over and over. She was gone. She was really and truly gone, and there was nothing he could do. He could feel the flowers in his hand, suddenly seeming to weigh a ton, no, two. He remembered her death. How could he not?

_She coughed, chest convulsing and sending out blood. He clasped her tighter, tears flowing as his closest friend began to leave._

_"What can I do? 'Ponine, tell me, if there's anything..."_

_"Just hold me. That's all I ask."_

_Marius obliged. He drew her tightly to him, so that she was sitting sideways on his lap, head leaning against his chest. "There, I feel better already. Now, there is something I must tell you before I go."_

_"Of course. What is it?"_

_Éponine winced again. She did not have the strength to speak at that moment. So she leaned up and kissed him, deeply, reaching one arm up to wind around her neck._

_Marius responded, an arm winding around her blood soaked waist, helping her sit up._

_It was then that he felt her go limp, their lips disconnecting._

_"Éponine?"_

_"Forget me, Marius. Live a happy life" she rasped._

_"I could never forget you."_

_"You must."_

_"No, Éponine! I don't want to forget you!"_

_"Marius, listen to me. Remember me properly on one day and one day only, the anniversary of my death. Spare me a thought now and then but do not grieve for me."_

_Marius squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and nodded. She needed to have her last wishes fulfilled, it was the least he could do for her._

_"I love you, Marius. Never forget that. One day I will see you again."_

_"I-I love you too, 'Ponine, don't you go forgetting that."_

_And with that, he kissed her again, deeply, until he felt her stiffen and go limp._

_She died with a kiss from the man she was in love with._

_Exactly how she wanted it._

Cosette's voice brought him back to reality.

"You do this every year. A bunch of lilies from the same shop, the same route, you sit here for the entire day. You have done since she died, the same day. You never forget."

Marius stared at the ground, those tears flowing free. "Lilies were her favourite. She loved them."

Cosette said nothing, helping him up. They walked in silence back to the house.

_Until next year, my darling Éponine._

_Until next year._

**A/N: Well wasn't that uplifting. Hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
